Range-finder.



J. H. JACKSON.

.RANGE FINDER.

APPLICATION FILED JULYYIY. 1917.

Patented Apr. 21918.

Witnesses Attorneys Josnrn n. Jackson, on ctajurong, anaem a, assre von or onn-rrrran TO rnnfo 3 CKMAN AN I R L BAMA- Renee-Fianna.

latented Apr, 2, 1918;.

Application filed July 17, 1917 SerialNo. 181,144.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH H. J AGKSON, a citizen of the, United States, residing at Olanton, in the county of Chilton and State of Alabama, have invented a new. and useful Range-Finder, of which the following is a specification. a i

The present invention appertains to range finders, and aims to provide a novel and im-' proved yet coni oaratively simple, and inexpensive device for readily and accurately de terinining the distances to various'objects, for. use by surveyors, formilitaryand naval operations to determinethe range, nd the like.

The invention has for its object the provision of a range finder which will, by simply bringing thesights in line with theobject, automatically indicate the range, so that no mathematical calculations or skill on the part of the operators is necessary.

With the foregoing and other objectsv in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein;

Figure 1 is a plan view of the range finder.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail on the line 22 of Fig. 1, portions being broken away,

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a suitable stock 1, which is preferably mounted upon a suitable base 2, one end of the stock being pivoted, as at 3, to the base. The stock is provided at its other end with an arm 4 extending at a right angle therefrom and carrying suitable sighting means 5, such as a telescopic sight when great accuracy is desired, althoughordinary notch and bead sights or the like can be used for shorter ranges.

It is preferable to provide means for moving'the stock 1 to bring the sight 5 in line with the object, such as the provision of a worm 6 engaging an arcuate series of teeth 7 carried by the base, the spindle 8 of the worm being journaled in a bearing 9 car ried by the stock, and having a knob 10 angle. therefrom, preferably in the same direction as the arm 4, and a slide 12 is movable longitudinally on the arm 11, belng provlded with anupstanding stem 13 that can be. used, as one member of a sight, there being suitable sighting means 1-1, such as a telescopic sight, or the like, at the pivot 33. The arm 11 is suitably graduated, at 21, according. to the distance betwecnthe sights, 5 and let, whereby when the sight is brought on the object, and the slide 12 moved to bring the sight member 13 in a line between the sight 1-1 and object, the slide 12 will indicate on the graduations 21, the distance to the. object from the range f'mder, according to the principles of trigonometry. It is evident that the farther away the object is, the slide 12. will have to be moved a proportional distance farther along the arm 11 away from the stock 1. The line 23 along which the sight 5 axis extends,is always a predetermined distance from the pivot 3, and the angle between the stock and line 23 is always a right angle, while the line 22 of the sights 13 and 1a is variable in its angle with the stock and line 23 as the slide 12 is slid outwardly and in wardly. The graduations 21 are, therefore, in proportion to the length of the stock or the distance between the pivot 3 and line 23, and said graduations may represent multiples of said fixed distance.

It is preferable to provide some means for readily moving the slide 12 and bringing the sights 13 and 11- in line with the object conveniently, especially for accurate work when the object is a considerable distance off. Thus, the sight or telescope 11 can be mounted on a beam 15 engaging the pivot 33 to swing thereon, the sight 14 extending longitudinally of the beam on the line 22, and said beam having one arm extending over the arm 11 and provided with a longitudinal slot 16 receiving the member 13. Thus, as the slide 12 is moved back and forth, the member 13 in working in the slot 16, will swing the beam 15 to automatically keep the member 13 in line between the object and sight 14. It is, therefore, only necessary to move the slide 12. This can be accomplished by the provision of a screw 17 extending along the arm 11 and carried bysuitable bearings 18 on the stock 1 and arm 11, the slide 12 having a nut 19 threaded upon the screw, and the screw having a knob 20 to be manually rotated for moving the slide 12 with the nut 19.

When extreme simplicity is desired, for

short range work, the base 2, beam 15, and parts 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19 and 20 can be eliminated. The slide 12 can then be moved by hand, and ordinary sights can be used in place of the telescopic sights 5 and 1 1, the sight 14 being located at the point where the pivot 3 is along the line of the while the member 13 can be used for long ranges.

The range finder can be readily used with a moving object, since one operator can keep a sight 5 in line with the object, by the ma nipulating knob 10, thus swinging the stock 1 without disturbing the operator looking through the sight 14:. The second operator Copiers of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. G. r

object in line with the other, a member movable with the adjustablesightingmeans, a fixed graduated arm arranged at an angle to said movable member, and a slide movable along the graduated arm and carrying a sighting element movably engaging and adapted to shift the movable member angularly.

2. A range finder embodying a stock, two

sighting means carried thereby one including a slide, the stock havmg an arm along which said shde is movable, the slide having a plu:

rality of sighting members, and the arm" having difierent sets of graduations for the sight members to indicate the range; ,1

In testimony that I'claimthe foregoingas my own, I have hereto aflixe d my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

Witnesses:

IVY E. SIMPSON, I MONROE E.,M]LLER.

' JOSEPH H. JACKSON. 1

Commissioner of Patents, 

